Stiv Bators (Born Steven Bator)
October 22, 1949 – June 3, 1990
Stiv Bators burst onto the punk scene as a member of the Dead Boys and later Lords Of The New Church. It was Bators’ sound and image that helped define the punk genre. After the demise of the Dead Boys, Bators found himself in the UK where he formed Lords Of The New Church with ex members of the Damned and Sham 69. The Lords achieved moderate success in Europe and the US due in part to their wild live shows. Bators was reported to have hung himself during a show in a stunt that went terribly wrong and was pronounced dead before being revived several minutes later. By the early ’80s, Bators was landing small parts in such cult classic films as Polyester and Tapeheads. And in 1988, the Lords broke up due to an injury Bators sustained to his back. In the early summer of 1990, an intoxicated Bators wandered into a Paris street and was struck by a taxi. He was taken to a hospital but apparently grew tired of waiting to see the doctor so he left. Bators died in his sleep later that night from what was ruled a concussion.
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